IOTA is a deck of regulation playing cards by Joe Doucet that dallies with the idea: how much you can take away while still maintaining a playable deck? Simple geometric symbols are reductive versions of hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades. While it’s necessary to mark the back of regulation playing cards, Joe’s done so with a minimal diagonal line instead of the overly ornamental versions used at your granny’s bridge club.

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of taking a press run to PermaGraphics to watch the production of the new era404 stationery. Mike Caloni, the founder of the 13-year-old printing firm, led me on a tour through the facility, starting with the 70-year-old duplicator his mother bought to print wedding paperie at their kitchen table, and ending with the incredible Komori 6-Color press (you can see one in action here). Our business cards are a #130lb Cover, far too thick for the in-house Heidelberg presses. Operators Pete and Frank even let me nit-pick to get the spectrometer below .03 difference between the letterhead and buisness card stock (in fact, they seemed eerily content with my perfectionism).

PermaGraphics obviously has a passion for their craft—an increasingly rare trait in an industry squeezed financially by the eVendors—and provides more than competitive rates for the New York City metro area. I highly recommend the quality and professionalism of their services. And Mike is genuinely a great guy. More photos after the jump.